SuperSport United are at an advanced stage with preparations for their MultiChoiceDiski Challenge quarterfinals match, according to coach KaitanoTembo.
United finished second in Group A to earn a clash with Platinum Stars, who took the third spot in Group B. The two teams will play the first last-eight encounter on January 31 at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu, Durban.
“Preparations have started well, we came back on the 5th (of January). Because we were anticipating that we were going to play on the 17th. But I think the postponement also helped us, because we didn’t have to prepare in a hurry, we had had to take our time. We had the whole month to prepare which was very good for us,” Tembo said.
SuperSport had to release some of the players while in the middle of their preparations after they were called up to the Under-17 and Under-20 national teams, but Tembo is isn’t too worried about such developments.
“The Under-17s, where we had six players, are already back because their last match was on Saturday, the players are now with us at the academy. It was difficult for us in terms of preparations but the most important thing is that the players were playing football. They were active with the national team, which is OK for us. It’s unlike they were home and not doing anything,” he said.
“It’s the same thing with the Under-20s, we’ve got four players with them. DumisaniMsibi, Denwin Farmer, KaraboSeriba and MorneNel, who are also part of the Diski Challenge team. They are playing with the national team, which is very good. When they come back I think they will be match fit, that’s all we want. “
Tembo also mentioned that he’s been able to study their opponents Stars during the offseason. Stars won three, drew three and also lost once in their seven group stage matches.
“I’ve been watching their videos and I know a lot about their strengths and weaknesses. They’ve got very good mobile players, especially from the midfield, they are very quick. They’ve got the young boy (Sabelo) Tsambo, who is a left winger. He’s very good and he scores beautiful goals as well,” he continued.
“They work very hard as a team, that’s one thing about them. They always want to push you to the limit, they are hard workers. They are a bit slow as well at the back, but they are a very good team. We are playing against a very good team,” said the former SuperSport defender.
The Zimbabwean-born coach further elaborated that the team will rely on the same players they used during the group stage, as they enter the knockout round.
“We still have the same squad, remember the rules say you can only use 30 players. At the moment we have used 27, so we are left with only three spots. We are confident with the player we have.”
“The most important thing is that the players come from the academy. The Diski Challenge came at the right time, because now we can be able to bridge the gap between the academy and the first team.
“Our academy boys are getting enough game time at the highest level which is very good and we are really happy about that,” concluded the coach.
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